An Active Family takes on the Pajero Sport

Dad says “Something with a bit of grunt. 4 wheel drive for off road. A tow bar. Drink holders. Needs a decent sat nav system. Bluetooth. Not too thirsty but still looks like it is.”

Mum says “It has to look hot. The seats need to pamper me every time I get in. They should be leather too… to wipe all the kids’ spills. Safety – I need cameras. Everywhere. And a cranking stereo.”

Kids say “Room for all my sports gear!”

Well, Mitsubishi has done it. Introducing the Ultimate Family Sports Car. What? How can it be a sports car? It’s a huge 4 wheel drive! Not THAT kind of sports car. We’re talking ferrying kids to weekend games kind of sports car. Heading off for a family road trip, off road, kind of sports car. Y’know, an actual ‘sports’ car.

Honestly, there’s not many boxes Pete [Pete the Pajero Sport– we just HAVE to name our cars!] doesn’t tick when it comes to satisfying everyone in the family. It’s a gorgeous looking car. Pete is Sterling Silver and super slick. The seats inside are oh so comfortable, especially the front seats that kind of hug you as you sit back (is that such a thing?) and of course, they’re leather or lethaaah, as we like to say. They are so luxurious that it almost seems a crime to put grotty kids on them except that because they’re lethaaah they’re actually PERFECT for kids because you can wipe them down. Oh yeah! Added bonus, the leather seats are on the mid spec GLS not just the top spec Exceed.

At Mum Central we have a lot of boys and with a lot of boys comes a lot of sports! Between us our weekends are split between cricket, football, soccer, tennis and trips to the bike park. It’s a crazy busy time but we wouldn’t change it for anything! Of course Pete makes light work of weekends sports. The huge boot space easily fits our esky, portable chairs and ALLTHESPORTSGEAR with room to spare. There’s a heap of room in the back seat for both the kids’ car seats with enough legroom to keep them from kicking the front seats [#pethate] and the front cabin has so much room that it’s like flying first class

To be honest, at first we were skeptical about the size of the car. We are used to a smaller four wheel drive and we thought the Pajero Sport may be a bit too big for us to manage. How wrong we were. The Pajero Sport is a large car BUT totally manageable. The sidesteps make it really easy to get in and out of the car – even for little people! And the height of the seats make it really easy on your back when you have to strap kids into their seats.

But the most exciting part for us was the on-screen camera display. Being unaccustomed to driving a larger car, we were worried that parking and manoeuvering would play havoc with our judgment. We were BLOWNAWAY with how intelligent the Pajero Sport (err Pete) is when it comes to identifying and displaying side and rear risks. The peace of mind that gives to a driver, particularly when reversing, is invaluable and definitely one of our favourite features. Stay tuned for more on THAT in our full review!

Yep, so far the Pajero Sport is fully meeting all our expectations of the ultimate family sports car and we can’t wait to get him on the road [and off!] to really see what he’s got for us!